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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Am I The Only Idiot That Hates Vacation?

This week has been magical! I mean just look at that sun, the surf, the sand, the warm breeze and all the full service you can expect from a wonderful resort in the Bahamas ... and I'm not there ... YES - YES - YES!!! No vacation for me. Somehow I conned Michael into going with her girlfriend Michelle, and I got to stay home with my good buddy Jack, and just couch it!

Yes, I know that the following statements will put me in the bottom .00000001% of the population but ... I HATE VACATION!!! It's soooooo boring and drives me crazy after like 2 days. I mean, let's break this down and look at it as pragmatically as possible. All you do is sit in a chair, on the sand, staring at the water, in the middle of nowhere (often in a country with far inferior sanitation and infrastructure than your own) for like 327 straight hours, getting burnt to a crisp. Then, you pig out at the World's biggest buffet or whatever, with local cuisine that is sometimes a little sketchy, or else with every decadent treat known to man, and drink way too much alcohol. There's no cell phone service. Typically no internet. Very little, if any TV. And almost nothing to do except watch the waaaaay-too-affectionate-newly-weds coo'ing and gaga'ing over each other on the beach, while periodically disappearing, presumably a quick trip back to their room. And don't get me started on the cat-sized mosquitoes. All of this for a huge chunk of my savings I worked hard for all year!!!!

Nope - nope - nope! Not for me! I have no problem with my wonderful wife making the trip with a girlfriend. And I'm lucky enough to have a marriage where we both enjoy doing things on our own from time to time. So this week ... while she's soaking in her beloved overpriced rays on the beach ... I'll just be kickin' it at home. With plenty to keep me busy. For free. Boring old man - out!... be great today!

12 comments:

HA! I feel the same way. Makes me nuts, have to have something to do!!! I have been blessed with lovely generous in-laws. I love them, I do, and like their son they make me NUTS with their 'brilliant' ideas! This year they have decided a family cruise would be fun... Sigh...

Vacations are great. Vacations to the beach are boring and terrible. When we vacation, we try to do somewhere either: historically interesting (my favorite!), geographically interesting, visit-oriented (friends/family), or with interesting and unique cuisine. I can only stand the beach for about one afternoon, and I cannot fathom being on a cruise. It's all the worst parts about a beach resort, and you can't escape.

This does not surprise me!! What you need is a guided running tour. Not a couch! I would go nuts if it was all beach all the time too, unless I got my run in first. FWIW, I just heard on the radio that most men actually hate vacations and think they are a waste of money. Maybe it has to do with work travel.smalltownrunner.com.

I love vacations, but not all inclusive type. My last couple of vacations have been to places like Turkey and Southern Africa and are a lot less about sitting around and more about seeing and experiencing things!

Jim, You need to go run a marathon in New Zealand, Scotland, or wherever. That would be a perfect vacation for you, me thinks. Sign up for a couple credit cards with huge airline bonus miles and it won't cost you a dime to fly.

If you don't like it then you mustn't be doing it right. We take very few vacations but when we do they're great but they're full of activity. Walking, river sledging, bungy jumping (the kids - not me) hiking on a glacier, sea kayaking. I'm good if there's something to do. The lying around doing nothing type holidays don't appeal to me either but no one's ever said that a holiday has to be done like that.

LOL - me and my hubs vacation always centers around races! We go and race, then enjoy whichever city we are in for a couple of days. If we do "beach it", we take our bikes to ride 60-100 miles a couple of days then ending up doing a lot of swimming and running. Sounds like you need to join us! I am pushing for a marathon cruise in the next year or two ---- sail to your next location, run the island and then go to the next stop! :)

50 After 40

Hi ... Thanks for checking out my journal & notes on running 50 marathons in 50 states after the age of 40.
Running has added so much to my life, and hopefully some of my experiences will help your running in some way or maybe just provide a little encouragement! ... Be Great Today!